Thanksgiving

God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.....Psalm 46:1-4  In the Bible are so many verses with hope and assurance that help me walk through every day and go peacefully to sleep at night.

There are plenty of tears that happen when I least expect.  Like this week I was feeling rather strong one day and thought I had a handle on this grief stuff.  Well my strength did not continue and I realized that MY strength won't get me far it has to be GOD'S strength and that is so much better.  There is a verse in the Bible that tells me "For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10  Paul a missionary for Jesus Christ tells how we are not always given 'easy' in this life so that Jesus' strength can shine more powerfully in our weakness.  This is not my favorite way to live life as I would rather be strong on my own.

This morning in church we were told we were having a service of lament!  Thankfully my daughter warned me as she went to the first service and I went to second.  I was also thankful to have my son and his family surrounding me.  It was a very good service, but my tears flowed freely!  No stopping them sometime.  The wonderful thing is to be reminded of the hope we have in our weakness.  Again Paul speaks to us in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."  Also verse 17 "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an ETERNAL GLORY that far outweighs them all."  It was a wonderful service in the end of it all and one we need to experience more than once.

My family and I are getting ready for our tradition "marathon" Thanksgiving Day.  This has developed over the years and become a pretty special event for us.  Years ago when my children were small we would pack up the kids and go to my parents home in southern CA.  We always spent Thanksgiving with them as it was my mother's birthday as well.  This year her birthday would have been the day of Thanksgiving.  She gets to celebrate with my dear Tom this year.  Anyway my parents loved to have big turkey dinners and afterward go bowling.  My kids loved it so much that it became part of the holiday that stuck.  We also decided when our kids married to ask them to keep that day for our family and any other holiday could be with the in-laws.  Now we start our day with a run/walk in the morning that benefits the local emergency aid council.  Then after changing we end up at my house for plenty of turkey and beef (sweet Tom always needed some beef) with lots of other foods.  We have to have praise and worship time of singing songs and some Bible read and prayer.  Everyone comes prepared to share what they are thankful for, which usually ends with some need for tissues.  Finally we are off to bowl and at the end of that we need to come back to my house for pie and don't forget the turkey and beef buns as well as a wonderful mixture of other foods!

Tom and I often thought the day reminded us of a little bit of heaven - feasting, enjoying each others company, playing, singing, sharing true feelings and feeling so loved.  May all of you have a touch of heaven as you share together this holiday.  There are no guarantees of who will be there but there are guarantees of heaven!  We all hope you expect to be there one day!